‘Heaven and Earth will pass away but my word will never pass away’
So we read in Matthew 24:35. Jesus is following up his words of warning which describe the ‘end times’. The disciples asked to know ‘when will this happen and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? Jesus went on to answer this by saying that no one knows the day or the hour when this will happen.
We cannot put a time or a date on it, yet we know as a true statement made by Jesus these days will come to pass. It is telling to look around at our current world and think of several signs of the end times coming through recent events. There have been widescale bush fires in Australia and California,flooding here at home and in other parts of the world, large scale volcanic eruptions in the Philippines, New Zealand, Russia and the United States, a plague of locusts across parts of East Africa and Pakistan and now the coronavirus gradually spreading to many countries
across the world.
These should not blind us to the ongoing human tragedy of the civil war in Syria which has been raging since 2011 leaving over 10 million people displaced from their homes, many of whom live in refugee camps or risk their lives to cross into other countries including our own.
Of course, many of these events have occurred before to varying extents so it is not for us to draw conclusions or make false prophecies.
Jesus also warned against that, saying that many would come in his name and deceive many. Whilst global warming and climate change are often cited as reasons for these more extreme natural events we are experiencing, Jesus describes them as something different, they are the beginning of birth pains, the restoration of Eden, the new heaven and a new earth to come (Rev 21:1a).
As Christians living today there are four important things for us to hold on to;
Firstly, we have the timeless word which will never pass away (Matt 24:35b) that gives us comfort and understanding of all that surrounds us, what a precious gift that is and we must ensure that we use it daily in every aspect of our lives.
Secondly, we have the Holy Spirit living within us which guides us through those many situations we are unable to manage for ourselves and through prayerful intercession gives us a direct line to our heavenly Father.
Thirdly, we have the call to ‘go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything I (Jesus ) have commanded you. (Matt 28:19) There will be a time of judgement and many who have rejected Jesus will face eternal torment.
We can help to save them from that for we have been called to take the truth of God’s word to every nation, tribe, people and language.
Finally we have the enduring hope that comes from the promise that Jesus will return to take us to be with him one day (see John 14:3). It’s a hope that is missing in many people’s lives yet how can they hear unless we share the good news of the gospel with them? We may yet have to endure more troubling times, be they natural disasters or from the hand of sinful mankind, but let us hold on to that enduring hope and remain confident in the one who loved us so much that he laid down his life for us on the cross at Calvary.
Stuart
Elder
March 2020
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